Stenness School and Nursery turns another page in its reading chapter!

Stenness Nursery has been successful in winning national library funding to further open up the world of reading to its children and young people. 

Stenness, which achieved “Reading School” status last month, has been awarded £600 for “reading together at home” from the School Library Improvement Fund (SLIF). 

As Book Week Scotland opens, it has been announced that 17 projects will benefit from the 2024-25 funding round of £15,000 through the Fund. 

Lead Practitioners Karen Gunn and Audrey Harcus, said: “We decided to apply for funding from the SLIF to put together our ‘Reading at Home’ project. We wanted to look at ways to enhance the love of reading at an early level and foster a love of reading not only at nursery but at home as well. Research has shown reading for pleasure has a positive impact on the emotional and social wellbeing of children and can improve attainment.” 

Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth said: “As Book Week Scotland gets underway, it’s an important time to reflect on the vital role school libraries play in supporting improved literacy and communications skills in our children. I am very pleased to see a range of creative projects benefit from this funding, which will ultimately encourage more young people to read for enjoyment.” 

Alison Nolan, Chief Executive of the Scottish Library and Information Council (SLIC), said: “School libraries play such an important role in providing a safe space for young people to learn while also expanding their horizons through the world of reading. Programmes like SLIF allow school libraries across the breadth of the country to tailor their offering to the pupils who make use of the library on a daily basis, and it’s great to see so many deserving projects receive confirmation of their award to kick off Book Week Scotland.”